


Still You Are Nowhere

by Thebonemoose



Series: Magnus and Lukas (beans and books, babey!) [5]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Big Boy Man Peter Lukas, Feelings Realization, Gratuitous use of italics, Jealous Martin Blackwood, Jonah Magnus (mentioned), Lonely eyes (mentioned), Martin is a good liar, Multi, Oblivious Jonathan Sims, Pining Tim Stoker, coffee shop/bookstore au, no beta we die like archive assistants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23876929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thebonemoose/pseuds/Thebonemoose
Summary: Simon Fairchild comes into the coffeeshop. Jon finally befriends Daisy (somehow). Tim has an emotional realization. Peter Lukas is vaguely creepy and Sasha makes Tim an offer.
Relationships: Basira Hussain & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Georgie Barker/Melanie King, Jonathan Sims & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Jonathan Sims & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood & Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Sasha James & Tim Stoker, Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Series: Magnus and Lukas (beans and books, babey!) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688632
Comments: 48
Kudos: 227





	Still You Are Nowhere

**Author's Note:**

> If you’re new here, I recommend starting at the beginning of the series, because this won't make sense otherwise!  
> Everyone else, welcome back :)
> 
> Just a warning this one gets a teensy bit spicy (like not really, but I felt like I should give everyone a heads up anyways) and nothing graphic happens. 
> 
> Anywho, Simon’s clothes are inspired by @ggracee on tumblr and also my friend Sam, who kept showing me barbershop quartet videos and made me forever associate Simon with barbershop quartets. Thanks for that one bud. 
> 
> Additionally, Martin is canonically a good liar and I plan to exploit this as often as I can. 
> 
> The deranged q-tip/cotton bud part i came up with when i made that face in the mirror and tried to think of what I looked like, and the first thing i thought of was “deranged q-tip”
> 
> As usual, the origin of this au is from the folks at a tma discord I’m in. Hi Mom!  
> (my mom is not actually in the tma discord server. She doesn’t know what discord is.)
> 
> This is the fic where I realize I have a problem with using too many adverbs but also… cannot deal with that at this time because I simply do not have the facilities big man.

The first customer of the day was the strangest-dressed man that Jon had ever seen. He was older, possibly in his 60s or 70s, and wearing what appeared to be the uniform for a barber-shop quartet. 

Perhaps even stranger was his manner, however. When Jon welcomed him in, the man did not even look at Jon, and instead walked straight to the bookstore, up the steps to the second level, and directly into Peter Lukas’ office. _Without_ knocking. 

Jon turned to Martin, a silent question in his eyes.

Martin appeared unfazed. “Oh, that’s Simon,” he said, drying a mug. 

“Simon…?”

Martin nodded without looking up. “Simon Fairchild. He’s friends with Peter.”

“Ah,” Jon said, pursing his lips. He frowned. Drummed his fingers on the counter. 

Martin looked at him from the corner of his eye, one eyebrow raised. “Yes, Jon?”

Jon swallowed. “Well-- do you… Do you know anything else?”

Martin shrugged. “Sorry, Jon. You’ve reached the limits of my knowledge on Simon Fairchild. If you like, I could talk about spiders, or poetry, or perhaps say something in Polish--”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary,” Jon grumbled, then froze. He turned to Martin. “You speak Polish?”

“Conversationally.”

“Huh,” Jon said.

Martin went back to drying mugs. 

Several hours later, Simon Fairchild emerged from the depths of the bookstore. He came to the counter, said, “One black coffee,” and paid exclusively in coins.

Marin made brief eye contact with Jon as Jon poured the coffee for Simon. He presented the coffee to Simon, and Simon took a sip, nodded, then handed Jon £50. Then he left, ignoring Jon’s protests.

Martin came over to Jon, who was staring at the banknote in his hand. Martin’s eyes widened. “Jon, that’s £50.” 

“I know!” Jon cried helplessly. 

Martin looked at him. “What are you going to do?”

Jon shrugged, and looked at the money like it might bite him. “Do you want it?” He asked, handing it out to Martin.

Martin’s eyes widened and he held his hands up. “I can’t keep it! He handed it to you!”

Jon’s eyes were wild. “What am I going to do with a random £50?!”

Martin sputtered. “You’re a grown man, figure it out! Buy a nice dinner, I don’t know!”

“Well--” Jon paused, and sighed. “Here’s what we’ll do, we’ll split it,” he said decisively. 

“Split--- Jon,” Martin said, frowning. 

Jon nodded emphatically. “Yes, we will! We’ll split it, because we were both on shift when he came in. And there’s no company policy that says we can’t accept tips!”

Martin scoffed. “There’s no way you read the employee handbook,” he muttered. 

“What? Of course I did.” Jon bristled. 

Martin simply shook his head. “You’re a shit liar, Jon.”

Jon scowled. “Wha- no I’m not.”

Martin appeared unfazed. “You are, and you didn’t read the employee handbook.”

“Oh, but you did?” Jon retorted skeptically. 

Martin nodded once. “Yes.”

Jon’s eyes widened. “R--really?”

“No, but you believed me, because _that,_ ladies and gentlemen, is how to _lie,_ ” Martin said smugly. 

Jon was privately very impressed, but he would die before he told Martin that. 

“In any case,” he announced loudly, “We’re splitting it.”

“Jon,” Martin said warningly.

“We’re splitting it or you’re taking it all home.”

Martin looked up to the ceiling and huffed. “Fine.”

Jon grinned. “Alright, excuse me, please.” He walked to the back to clock out, then walked to the customer side of the counter. “Hello,” he said, and Martin furrowed his brows. “I would like a scone.”

Martin raised an eyebrow. “Jon, what are you doing.”

“I’m asking for a scone!” he said brightly. 

Martin sighed and closed his eyes. He shook his head, exhaled, and put on a fake customer service smile. “What kind?”

Jon looked down at the display case. “Blueberry,” he replied confidently. 

Martin fetched him the scone and relayed the total. Jon handed him the 50.

Martin scoffed. “Really, Jon? Really?”

“I just want to eat my scone in peace, sir.”

Martin rolled his eyes and accepted the 50. He gave Jon his change, his face emotionless.

“My, what excellent customer service!” Jon grinned, and made a big show of handing Martin 25 pounds. “For your exceptional work as a barista. Your boss is very lucky to have you.”

Martin blushed, but accepted the money. “I’ve never hated you more,” he grumbled, not making eye contact. 

Jon hid his smile and pocketed the rest of the change. “Excuse me, please,” he said again. He walked around the counter and towards the back room. 

“Fuck, that was cute,” Jon heard Martin say quietly before he had left the room. 

Jon didn’t dwell on it. The wildly beating organ in his ribcage would say otherwise, though. 

“Thanks, Jon,” Basira said, accepting her London Fog. She took it to the table Daisy had already claimed, and Daisy watched her as she did. 

“Your coffee, Daisy,” Jon called, and Daisy stood and stalked to the counter. She grabbed the cup Jon held out, and nodded once. 

Martin frowned, watching her go. “Is she always so…”

“Brusque?” Jon asked. Martin nodded. “Unfortunately. Basira seems to like me well enough, but Daisy can’t stand me, I suppose.”

“Why?” he asked. 

Jon shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well you must have done something,” Martin prompted.

Jon took offense to that, apparently. “Me? What about her?” He almost screeched. 

“Jon, be realistic. What were you like when we first met?”

Jon pouted. 

“Answer the question, Jon.”

“I was an ass,” he said quietly. 

“Yeah. A right prick, you were,” Martin said easily. 

“That’s… fair, I suppose. But I really don’t think I did anything to make Daisy hate me. She just… does.”

Martin quirked his head. “Well, you’re not everyone’s cup of tea. Pun intended.”

Jon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

When Martin came in to work a few days later, Jon was laughing: a rare sound on a good day, but especially at this hour in the morning. 

Martin furrowed his brows, expecting to see Tim or Sasha at the counter, or Georgie, even. Instead, he saw Daisy, leaning against the counter and smirking at Jon. 

His eyes widened. 

“Oh, hello, Martin,” Jon said, still chuckling. Daisy looked over and nodded to him. 

“Uh… hey,” Martin greeted. He kept his eyes on them as he walked to the back to clock in. What the hell had happened between those two? 

Martin donned his apron and walked back to the front, eyeing the duo warily. 

Jon was in the middle of a sentence when he was interrupted by a meow. Daisy looked down, then crouched behind the counter. When she reappeared she had the Admiral in her arms, and Jon grinned and pet him.

Meaning he was _willingly_ putting his extremity in Daisy’s space. Which, given her expansive fighting background, was _not wise._

After almost an hour of trying to work while Jon and Daisy chatted and played with the Admiral, Martin decided to speak up. “So!” he said loudly, and Jon looked over to him. “This is new, eh? You two, being all… not… murdering each other,” Martin finished lamely. 

“Yeah,” Daisy said. “It turns out we have more in common than we thought.”

Jon grinned at her. 

_Hm. Okay. Don’t like that,_ Martin thought. Obviously, Jon was his own person, who could do what he wanted. Including hanging out with someone he once suspected of being a murderer. That was his prerogative. He didn’t owe Martin anything. 

Jon laughed at something Daisy said, and Martin scowled. 

_Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though._

The problem was this:

Sasha wasn’t even doing anything. They had just been talking, like they always did at work. 

And then Tim had to go and have a revelation, now, didn’t he?

And this is how it happened:

Sasha was laughing. That was the first problem. Sasha was laughing at something Tim had said. It wasn’t even a joke, just something lame and corny that he said for no other reason than he had thought of it. 

But Sasha had looked at him, her lips pressed together tightly. For a moment, Tim thought he had offended her. 

Then she snorted, and dissolved into giggles, and Tim’s heart started beating wildly.

 _Oh,_ he thought. _I have real, genuine feelings for her._

And then she snorted again, and her eyes widened like it surprised her, and Tim just…

Well. 

_Oh,_ he thought again. _I could fall in love with her._

She collected herself, and pushed her glasses up further on her face, wiping the tears from her eyes. 

_Hi, I’m Tim, your friend/coworker, would you like to kiss and/or get married on a beach?_

She grinned at him, and bit her lip.

_Tim Stoker James has a pretty nice ring to it, hm?_

“Hey, Sasha,” he found himself saying. 

“Yeah?”

“You know what I just thought of?”

She shook her head. “What?”

“This.” Tim used his lower teeth to bite his top lip, then widened his eyes and flared his nostrils, which made him look a bit like a deranged cotton bud. 

Sasha snorted again, shaking her head at him.

_Swear on a bible I’ll make you laugh your whole life if you let me._

“You’re an idiot,” she said fondly.

“Yeah, Sash, but I’m _your_ idiot,” he smiled. 

She snorted. “Where’s customer service? I want to return an item,” she joked, and Tim’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much. 

They returned to shelving after that, but Tim kept glancing over at her, just to look. 

Sasha had to leave early that day for a dentist appointment, so after they finished shelving she grabbed her things and said goodbye to Tim. 

“You’re all set to help Melanie, right?” Sasha asked. 

Tim rolled his eyes and nodded. “Yes, Sasha, We’ll be fine.”

“Alright, alright. You know me, I have to double check,’ she said.

“And triple-check, and quadruple-check, and quintuple check, and probably sextuple check, too,” he added. 

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Thoroughness is a virtue!”

“Show me where in the bible it says that and I will give you a thousand pounds.”

“Oh, it says it right here!” Sasha said, then reached into her bag. She dug around for a moment, then pulled her hand out of her bag: empty, but holding her middle finger out to Tim. Sasha grinned devilishly.

He shook his head and chuckled. “You son of a bitch, I actually believed you.”

Sasha just cackled, then waved a final goodbye and left the shop. 

Tim stared after her, every bit the lovesick fool. 

Melanie happened by at that moment. “Oh, Tim, perfect. I have a question about the autobiographies--” She started, looking down between the two books in her hands.

He huffed. “Not now, Melanie, I’m having an emergency!” Tim shouted, and dashed towards the coffee shop.

“Wha-- Tim! Oh, fuck you,” Melanie grumbled, and shook her head. 

Tim needed to find someone to talk to about his unfortunate feelings realization, and soon. His first choice was Martin, who was manning the coffee shop counter on his own. 

Tim quickly ruled him out. That would make things complicated, what with the matchmaking. Melanie? No, he burned the bridge moments ago. Georgie wasn’t in today, unfortunately. But she would probably just tell him to ask Sasha out, anyways. 

...Elias?

Tim shook his head. That was definitely a bad idea. 

Well. That only left Jon. 

Tim sighed, and marched past Martin and into the breakroom at the back of the coffee shop. 

“Tim? What are you doing here?” Jon asked, startled. 

Tim took a seat across from Jon at the table and looked at him intently. 

“I need a confidant.”

Jon raised his eyebrows. “Oh, Martin’s break is in twenty minutes, I’m sure he’d be happy to--”

Tim shook his head. “Nope, it has to be you, Jon.”

“Uh… why is that, exactly?” Jon fidgeted. 

“Nobody else would work. You were the only viable option.”

Jon winced. “Oh… how… unfortunate for you.”

Tim nodded. “Yes. Anywho, are you willing?”

“Er-- I suppose?”

Tim sat back in his chair. “Good enough. Well, Jon! I have feelings for Sasha.”

“Sasha? Really? Hm,” Jon looked vaguely pleased.

“What?”

“Nothing, I just always thought you two would make a good couple,” Jon remarked. 

“Sweet as that is, Sasha and I are not a couple. Which is why I need a confidant. I have no reason to believe she reciprocates, and I’m obviously not going to tell her, because that could ruin the friendship!” Tim put his head in his hands and frowned. 

Jon nodded slowly. “Right. That would be… Bad.”

“Yes, Jon, very bad. I can’t lose Sasha, she’s amazing. I could fall in love with her if I let myself. I could marry her, Jon.”

“Well, you _could_ marry almost anyone--”

“Now is not the time to be pedantic, Jonathan!”

Jon grimaced. “Sorry.”

“I just realized how I felt today, and I’m freaking out, Jon,” Tim said seriously. 

“Yes, I-- I can see that,” he replied. 

“It kind of snuck up on me, you know?” 

Jon swallowed loudly. “Right.” He looked down at the surface of the table. 

Oh. Right. Jon and Martin. Here was an opportunity to further their agenda. 

“Have you ever felt like that, Jon?” Tim asked soulfully.

Jon fidgeted and blinked. “Um, well… So, what do you like about Sasha?”

_Nice try, Jon. I’ll let it go this time._

Tim began to relay a detailed list of Sasha’s various admirable qualities, and at the end of the admittedly lengthier than necessary list, Jon scooted his chair closer to Tim’s and patted his shoulder awkwardly.

“Well… You’re a great friend, and anyone would be lucky to have you as a partner,” Jon said. 

Tim was touched, frankly. He never thought that Jon would have it in him. He stood, and pulled Jon up with him. 

Jon looked vaguely panicked. “What is this?”

“We’re hugging now.”

“We-- oh,” Jon said as Tim wrapped his arms around him tightly. 

“That was a clumsy attempt at comfort, but I’m grateful for it, anyways,” Tim told Jon. 

Jon just nodded against Tim’s shoulder. 

Tim pulled away but left his arms grasping Jon’s shoulders, and he leaned down slightly to press a kiss to Jon’s forehead. 

“Thanks, Boss,” he said softly, grinning. 

Jon was blushing. “Yes, well… I’m not even your boss anymore.” 

“You'll always be my boss a little bit,” Tim smiled, and returned to the bookstore. He apologized to Melanie, who huffed but had no reaction aside from that. 

Which, yeah. Fair enough.

Martin huffed and collapsed onto a booth. “I love closing early.”

Melanie nodded, her mouth full of muffin. She sat down across from him. 

“We still have to clean, you know,” Jon said pointedly from where he stood by the window, then sprayed it with cleaner and began to wipe.

“We’ve got time, boss,” Tim said with a grin. He was sitting on the counter cross legged. Georgie sat beside him, with the Admiral in her lap.

“At the risk of sounding rude,” Sasha spoke up. “Georgie, what are you doing here?” She asked, not unkindly. 

Georgie held up the Admiral. “I’m his manager.”

Sasha shrugged. “Alright, that checks out.”

“You could help me, you know,” Jon said to the room at large. He was ignored. He huffed and turned back to the window. 

“Do you all have weekend plans?” Tim asked, looking around. 

Martin shook his head. “Nope.”

“Sasha, what about you?” Tim turned to her.

“I don’t know yet, actually,” she replied. “Maybe. I guess we’ll see.”

“Melanie and I are recording the podcast, but I think that’s it,” Georgie answered, scratching the Admiral on his head.

“Well, if no one’s going to help me, why am I still doing this?” Jon put his cleaning supplies on the counter and took a seat at the same table as Sasha. She smiled at him. 

He just grumbled. 

Then Daisy and Basira walked out of the bookstore and out into the coffee shop space.

“You’re still here?!” Tim cried.

Basira looked up from her book. “Um… yes?”

“We closed like, an hour ago,” Melanie informed them easily, still eating her muffin.

“Then why’s she still here?” Basra nodded to Georgie.

Georgie smiled and held up the Admiral. “I’m his manager,” she said again. 

Basira narrowed her eyes. “Right… Okay. Well, I think we’re going to stick around, actually,” Basira said, looking to Daisy, who nodded. 

Daisy took a seat by Jon, and Basira sat at an empty booth. 

“What’s got you in a tizzy?” Daisy asked Jon, bumping his elbow with hers.

He frowned. “I refuse to be the only one actually cleaning.”

“Right, so you’ve decided to… throw a temper tantrum?”

Jon looked at her with fury in his eyes. Daisy laughed and patted his arm.

“Simmer down, Jon. I don’t blame you.”

He muttered something bitterly. 

“Tim, can you bring me a scone?” Martin asked. 

Tim nodded and hopped down from the counter. He went behind the display case and grabbed a scone, then wrapped it in a paper bag. Then he jumped back on the counter and reared his arm back, still holding the scone. 

Martin’s eyes widened. “No no no nO TIM DON’T THROW IT--”

Tim threw. 

Martin shrieked but caught it, then looked inside the bag. He glared at Tim. “It’s just crumbs now, you bastard.”

“You’re welcome, Martin. I love you, Martin.”

Martin popped a scone crumb into his mouth. “Fuck off.”

Sasha laughed. 

“Hey, do you guys get a weird vibe from Jonah and Peter?” Georgie changed the subject suddenly, her brows furrowed.

“Of course. Their whole thing is weird. They’re billionaires who own a quaint London cafe,” Tim snarked.

Georgie quirked her head. “Yes, but that’s not what I meant.”

“I still don’t think Peter Lukas is real,” Basira said, out of the blue.

All eyes turned to look at her. 

“You what?” Jon asked. 

“I think he’s not real. You guys made him up. Or! Somebody else made him up and lied to you.”

“I’ve… Basira, I’ve literally spoken to him,” Tim told her. 

“Daisy, do you think he’s real?” Sasha asked, turning back to the table. 

Daisy shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. I’ve never seen him in person, though. Neither has Basira.”

“That’s… baffling,” Jon said.

“I mean, he does keep to himself,” Melanie added.

“Still, he’s a big man. He’s very hard to miss,” Jon said to Basira. 

Tim nodded sagely. “He’s a real big boy man.”

Jon, Melanie, and Basira all stared at him judgmentally. 

Georgie put her hands up. “Okay, real or not, that’s not what I meant. I meant like a weird vibe… between Jonah and Peter.”

The room was quiet as they all reflected on her statement

“You know,” Martin began. “I’ve never _actually_ seen them interact,” he admitted. 

“Hm...Me neither, now that I think about it.” Sasha frowned. 

“What are you getting at, Georgie?” Tim asked, turning to her. 

Georgie shrugged. “I think they’re dating.”

A silence fell over the shop. Then, abruptly, it was broken by a cacophony of laughter as eight people began guffawing. 

Georgie put her hands out. “No, seriously! Think about it!” she insisted.

The laughter continued. 

“Based on _what,_ Georgie? In what universe?” Melanie said, wiping tears from her eyes. 

“Well, I’ll explain if you all shut up,” Georgie snipped.

The laughter quieted, and most of them had the good sense to look chided. 

“Thank you. Think about it, though.” Georgie began. “They’re both oldish men who employ almost exclusively gay people.”

Several people frowned.

“My god,” Tim said. “You’re right. There’s not a single hetero among us!”

“How do you know Daisy and I aren’t straight?” Basira asked. 

Tim furrowed his brows, his expression pensive. “Are you?”

Basira snorted. “Absolutely not.”

Georgie pointed to Tim. “See? Why would they only pick gay people unless they were gay?”

“This argument feels flimsy at best,” Sasha said, grimacing.

Jon nodded. “I have to agree, Sasha.”

“No, seriously! There’s only one confirmed straight person here,” Georgie insisted. 

“Who?” Melanie asked. 

“James Wright,” Martin chimed in. 

Jon frowned. “How do you know?”

“Well it’s definitely not Elias,” Martin quipped.

Tim laughed. “No, you’re right. If Magnus and Lukas are together, that means James Wright is the only straight person here.”

“I bet he doesn’t even listen to ABBA,” Sasha said, and Daisy chuckled. 

Georgie held up her pointer finger. “Furthermore! Have you ever heard them talk about each other? They sound like they’ve been married for years?”

Martin smiled. “Aw, are they all cute and lovey-dovey?”

“No, they sound like they fucking despise each other,” Georgie replied. 

“Huh.” Tim furrowed his brows.

“Okay, so I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily a hallmark of a marriage, Georgie,” Sasha said. 

“Not a good marriage, sure. But that combined with how familiar they are? I’m just saying. It wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Maybe they _are_ married.” Martin looked pensive.

The shop was quiet as everyone seemed to consider this. 

Then Tim pointed up to Lukas’s office. “Look, there he is! Ew, he’s watching us!”

Peter Lukas stood at the window to his office, staring down at the employees. As soon as Tim spotted him, though, he flipped the blinds closed.

“What a creep,” Martin muttered.

“I still didn’t see him,” Basira said. 

“Basira, he was right there!” Tim shouted. Basira just shrugged.

“Alright, so if they are together, what do we think? Are they married? Were they married but have since gotten divorced? Do they live together?” Sasha asked the room.

Melanie shook her head. “There’s no way they live together. Their aesthetics are wildly different, and Jonah Magnus, The Bitch Himself, would never compromise his artistic vision,” She said plainly. 

“That’s probably accurate,” Jon agreed. 

“I think they’re divorced. Maybe they used to be in love, but not anymore,” Martin stated.

“I could see that,” Tim said. 

They spent another hour just debating the specifics of Magnus’ and Lukas’s theoretical relationship. They did also get a bit of cleaning done, because Jon bullied them. The bullying was not effective, but Sasha convinced everyone to help anyway.

As they all sat down again for a break from cleaning, Georgie spoke. 

“You know, when I was in Peter’s office, I saw the feed for the security cameras.”

Tim looked at her. “That’s where they go? I always wondered.”

“That seems strange, given… Jonah’s entire personality,” Jon said. “Why would Peter have it in _his_ office?”

“Oh,” Sasha said, laughing. “I think I know.”

Tim motioned for her to go on. 

“Jonah once called me into his office to ask me how to login to his email. He wasn’t even signed out. He was _at_ his email, and he wanted to know how to sign in to his email even though he was already there.”

“Oh. So he’s just an idiot. Okay.” Melanie frowned. 

“My guess is he has no technological savvy at all, so it _had_ to be Peter Lukas’s job,” Sasha said. 

Martin snapped his fingers. “Oh! I bet that’s how he always knew when to save me from a rude customer, because he was watching the camera feed.”

Tim grimaced. 

“What’s wrong, Tim?” Melanie asked. 

“Knowing that Peter Lukas is watching my every move while I’m at work is freaking me out. I dick around… like, a lot. Almost constantly, Sasha can tell you.”

Sasha just nodded tiredly.

“Why haven’t I been fired? I don’t do shit.” Tim slouched forward. 

They all got quiet. “Maybe… he likes you?” Martin suggests. 

Tim grimaced. “Ew.”

Martin clarifies. “No, like, as a worker.”

“Even more ew. I don’t want to be a cog in the capitalist machine.”

“Tim, you already are a cog. We’re all cogs,” Jon said. 

He shook his head. “Well RIP to you but I’m different.”

Jon stared at him. “You’re… really not, Tim. You see that right? You understand that?”

“Yes, Jon, I get it, you’re a communist.”

“I— what?”

The others laughed at Jon’s confusion, but he quickly got annoyed, and made them finish cleaning, to everyone’s great annoyance.

Several of them decided to head out, after all the cleaning was done. Daisy and Basira said their goodbyes, then walked out, accompanied by Melanie, Georgie, and the Admiral.

“I’m heading out, too. Bye, you guys,” Martin said, waving. He followed them out. 

Jon sighed and rubbed at his neck.

“You alright there, Boss?” Tim asked. 

Jon nodded. “I’m fine. It’s… been a long day,” he admitted. 

Tim and Sasha looked at each other meaningfully. Sasha nodded. 

“Why don’t you go home, Jon? Sasha and I will finish up here.”

Jon tried to protest, but Sasha stopped him. “There’s not that much left to do. We’ll be fine. Just go home, please,” she pleaded.

Jon sighed. “Alright, alright. If you’re sure you’ve got it handled.”

“Sasha could do your job blindfolded with her hands tied behind her, and she would still do it at half the time you do, Jon,” Tim said easily. 

“Okay, well. That’s… probably true.”

“Look, here’s your bag. We’ll see you on Monday, alright?” Sasha handed Jon his stuff, and gently ushered him out the door. 

“He’d be dead if it wasn’t for us,” Tim said when Jon had gone.

“I know. What would he do without us?” Sasha grinned. 

Tim laughed, and clapped his hands together. “Okay! Shall we get to work? Lots to do before we’re ready for Maintenance tomorrow,” he said.

“We won’t even be here for that, Jon will.”

“All the more reason to make him proud. Shall we?”

Sasha chuckled and shook her head. “Sure, Tim.”

Here’s the thing, though. Tim was _hot._

Tim was _really_ hot. 

Truth be told…. it had been a while. The last time Sasha had taken anyone home was a one night stand three months ago.

And, oh, did she mention? Tim was _hot._

But he was also a good friend, and a good person. He was probably Sasha’s best friend, truthfully. Part of her was worried she would jeopardize that if she asked Tim to come home with her. 

Sasha took a moment to just look at Tim. He’d put music on, and was half-dancing as he put chairs on top of tables. It was goofy and weird. And...endearing. 

Nah, she decided. It wouldn’t change anything. Either he would say no, and it may be awkward for a week or two, or he’d say yes. In which case… 

Well. It’s not hard to figure out what would happen after that. 

Sasha grinned to herself. “Hey, Tim?”

He looked up at her, his expression open. “What’s up?”

 _Here goes nothing,_ she thought. “Do you want to go home with me?”

Tim shrugged. “Sure. What do you want to do? Oh, we could play Mario Kart! I’ve been practicing, I’m gonna beat you this time,” he says, grinning. 

Sasha felt a rush of fondness for him. “Actually, I was thinking we’d have sex,” she said easily.

Tim dropped the chair he was holding and it clattered to the floor loudly. Sasha winced.

Tim stared at her, his mouth open. “W...what?”

“I’m asking you to come to my flat so we can have sex, Tim.” 

“Right. Yeah, I got that,” He said, still wide eyed, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks.

 _Fuck, that was adorable._ Sasha chastised herself mentally. Tim shouldn't be adorable to her. Tim should be her hot friend who she occasionally has sex with. Adorable is for partners. 

She played with her fingernails. “So…?”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “So…” he began. “Um, why?”

Sasha sighed good naturedly. “I don’t know, Tim. Because I want to?”

He nodded, then furrowed his brows. “Right. Of course.”

“You don’t have to, Tim,” she said gently. 

His eyes snapped up to meet hers.

She took a step closer to him. “Or... you could still come over and we can just play Mario Kart. It’s up to you.”

Tim swallowed, and furrowed his brow. “Could we-- could we do both?” Tim asked hesitantly. 

Sasha couldn’t help it, she laughed.

She walked over to Tim, grabbed his face in her hands, and kissed him soundly. “Sure, Tim,” she said afterwards, still laughing. “We can do both.” 

She took a step back, and started to leave. 

Tim frowned. “Well, don’t leave!” he said, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You didn’t even give me a chance to respond,” he said quietly, smirking a little, and then he was kissing her. 

_Yes,_ Sasha thought. _This was a very good idea, indeed._

**Author's Note:**

> You made it to the end! Congrats! Luckily for you I'm posting the next one at the same time as this one so.... check it out? Maybe?
> 
> And possibly my other fics while you're at it? If the mood strikes?? Idk...... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


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